Days 13 & 14 - Road Trip to Ourzazate!

After we finished our breakfast we had some time to kill, so Ry and I headed to the rooftop deck to play some more...hide and seek!

Playing with him is no fun though. He's just too well hidden.

After two nights at Riad 02, we packed up our bags to leave Marrakech for a few days. Because we wanted to get out of the city and see a bit of desert, as well as visit a few kasbahs, we hired a driver to take us out to Ourzazate (WAR za-zat), about half a day's drive from Marrakech.

Leaving Riad 02 to go and meet out driver for the next few days...never easy weaving in and out of the maze.

Our driver Hashim was a very accommodating, smiling man who also drove like a wild man. I don't mean to imply that he risked our lives (he was very much in control of the vehicle), but as a result of his driving, Ryan now knows what the word 'tailgating' means and gleefully reported anytime we did it thereafter. "Mommy! Look! We're tail gaiting again!" Thank God/Allah that Hashim did not know what that word meant. As a result, even with multiple stops along the way to stop and stretch, most of us felt like puking by the time we got to Ourzazate. :-)

We were excited to be able to see a number of Berber villages tucked away in the mountains along the way...and more working farmers, donkeys and steppe-terrace fields irrigated by nearby streams. Such simplicity and serenity was the entire point of getting out of the city.

Thumb + Blanket = This. Every. single. time. (Yes, we are lucky, lucky folks.)

The High Atlas Mountain Range

Before leaving Marrakech, we'd asked Hashim if there were any places to ride camels that we not too touristy, crowded or overpriced. We'd seen some in Marrakech, but they were the equivalent of an assembly line operation in the middle of parking lot right next to a busy street. Not so desirable. Our boy Hashim TOTALLY delivered. He drove us out to this empty desert area, to a man sitting all by himself with his three camels. We never saw another car/person the entire 45 min. or so that we were there. We loooooved it. Our camels (unlike the angry, howling, Chewbacca-sounding ones we'd seen in Egypt) were very calm...so we were lucky. I would have preferred also wearing a turban and smoking a hookah pipe while riding, but we don't get everything we want all of the time.

A Berber man we met at lunch

After camel riding in the desert, we had lunch. More vegetable couscous!

From our restaurant, we were able to meander/walk our way over to the Ait Ben Haddou Kasbah. And because it was not out first time to the rodeo, we also managed to successfully shake off a stalker-like pushy, self appointed guide. To get there, you have to cross over the riverbed and then hike up.

Because it was roasting hot out there as well as nearly empty, we felt comfortable shucking off our long pants and long sleeves for the first (& only) time on the entire trip. If you are modest, please avert your eyes from our whorish attire.

Ryan found a walking stick and used it the whole time we explored the kasbah.

We inadvertently made some donkey porn when we took this photo. We had no idea of the donkey's 'excitement' until later that afternoon when Joey showed us his zoomed/close up of the donkey's unit (because of course, HE noticed). When we whipped out our camera to check our own photo, we were amused delighted horrified to see that we had captured it too.  

I loved the artwork made with mud. How people create beauty out of mud is inspiring.

I thought the kasbah looked like a giant sandcastle.

After spending most of the day in the car and at the kasbah, we retired to our hotel (unspectacular on so many levels, but adequate). I have to mention that Rich, Joey and my mom went out to search for dinner, and ended up with a couple of pizzas (the only food they could find) that still took awhile to make. When they came back we were dumbfounded- the pizzas were basically two tortillas sprinkled with about 7 tiny chunks of semi-melted cheese on it. I think the entire pizza was about 17 calories and weighed 3 ounces.

We can thank Joey/Psy for them giving us such a diet-sized portion. Check him out here!